VPA Dean’s Gallery hosts exhibition of paintings

VPA Dean’s Gallery hosts exhibition of paintingsJune 06, 2006Jaime Winne Alvarezjlwinne@syr.edu

The College of Visual and Performing Arts Dean’s Gallery at Syracuse University will host “Musings…Women in Contemplation,” an exhibition of 13 oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings by Rhea Evans Reynolds ’49, through July 14. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Paid parking is available in Irving Garage.

Reynolds earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in interior design from SU’s College of Fine Arts. She also studied with Egon Weiner of the Art Institute of Chicago and James Leshay of the University of Iowa. After several years of interior design practice, Reynolds turned her creative efforts to drawing and painting. Her early work in watercolor while a student at SU has influenced her subsequent use of oils.

The compositions featured in “Musings” are executed in oil, except for two acrylic and two watercolor pieces. Reynolds’ work is characterized by areas of watercolor-like transparency contrasted with expanses of flat opaqueness that combine to mirror perceived qualities of light. Her aim is predomination of color, light and shadow over the subject. “Musings” evinces an uplifting aura of feminine strength and grace, achieved through juxtaposition of clear, flat planes of color and dynamic interplay of abstract shapes.

A native of Syracuse, Reynolds spent her childhood in New Jersey and upstate New York. Over the years, she has lived and painted in locations ranging from Delaware County, N.Y., to Denver; Davenport, Iowa, to South Bend, Ind.; Bloomfield Hills, Mich., to Mexico City and Paris. Reynolds and her husband, Mace, make their home in Stuart, Fla., and Cooperstown, N.Y., where she frequently exhibits her work at the Smithy-Pioneer Gallery.

The VPA Dean’s Gallery is located in Room 200 of Crouse College and is open to the public Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, contact the VPA Dean’s Office at 443-5889.